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Thursday 2nd September 2010

Top News
Pilots authorized by air traffic controllers to taxi onto runways and await takeoff clearance will be instructed to "line up and wait" rather than "position and hold" beginning on Sept. 30, the FAA reminded pilots this week. The new terminology, which was recommended by the NTSB, conforms to the terminology established in guidelines of the International Civil Aviation Organization. Also, an FAA safety analysis found that the new phraseology will eliminate confusion, particularly among pilots who also fly overseas, and will further reduce the risk of runway incursions. Starting Sept. 30, controllers will state the aircraft's call sign, state the departure runway and then instruct pilots to "line up and wait."
Aug 31, 11:07pm UTC

More News
Nate Foster, a 17-year-old from Maryland who took off in August to fly across the U.S. in a Piper Cub, has made it safely to Monterey, Calif., according to the Baltimore Sun.
Sep 1, 7:14pm UTC
Air Force veteran Richard Young will attempt, this Sept. 11, to establish a closed-course speed record using unleaded fuel developed by Swift Enterprises.
Sep 2, 12:03am UTC
An ASTM committee that develops the standards for light sport aircraft to operate under instrument flight rules has decided to move forward and change the standards to prohibit the use of S-LSAs in IMC.
Sep 1, 8:20pm UTC
Although business aviation in much of the world has been downplaying the luxury aspect and emphasizing efficiency and productivity, a major exhibition in Abu Dhabi next February embraces the undeniable comforts that come with private air travel.
Aug 31, 5:41pm UTC
Gulfstream's new G650 recently reached Mach 0.995 on a test flight, which the company says establishes the business jet as the world's fastest civil aircraft, a title that has long been held by Cessna's Citation X.
Aug 31, 1:23am UTC
The Navy says it's working on a software glitch that resulted in a helicopter drone flying autonomously toward Washington, D.C., last week.
Aug 29, 5:16pm UTC
Mexicana, Mexico's largest airline, stopped flying at noon on Saturday, telling passengers still holding tickets it was sorry for the inconvenience.
Aug 29, 8:24pm UTC
The Avgas Coalition, which is made up of aviation industry groups and petroleum industry organizations, has told EPA more study is needed to determine whether leaded aviation fuel actually poses a risk great enough to warrant an "endangerment finding."
Aug 29, 10:16pm UTC
Central Maine Airport operator Kristina Wallace says her phone is "ringing off the hook" because 87-Octane fuel is about to vanish from the airport.
Aug 27, 2:15am UTC
 
Chandler Negrete, an 8-year-old boy, is preparing to fly from Arizona to New York in a Cessna 172 with an instructor to raise money for children with parents serving overseas in the military.
Sep 1, 11:53pm UTC
NASA is often perceived as being all about space, but this week the agency said it will offer scholarships to encourage students to pursue careers in aeronautics research to develop vehicles that fly in the atmosphere as well as in space.
Sep 1, 9:43pm UTC
The recent past hasn't been all that pleasant for the business and commercial aircraft sectors, so a group of leading industry execs is looking to the future.
Sep 1, 12:03am UTC
Problems stemming from simulator training have been cited as contributing factors in airline accidents that caused more than half of the 522 fatalities over the last decade, according to a USA Today analysis.
Aug 31, 10:35pm UTC
British Airways is investigating how an automated message came to be played on Aug. 24 over the intercom of an otherwise healthy in-flight 747, telling all 275 passengers the jet was going to ditch.
Aug 27, 7:13pm UTC
Arizona education officials have decided against following California in imposing potentially onerous financial and regulatory requirements on Part 61 flight schools.
Aug 29, 6:27pm UTC
The Coast Guard, Navy and Marines have published reports on an October midair that took the lives of all involved -- seven Coast Guard members and two Marines flying in a Military Warning Area, at night, off Southern California.
Aug 27, 2:08am UTC
"The trajectory of the business is terrific at the bottom line," Cirrus CEO Brent Wouters told TheStreet.com, but "the revenue line stinks" and fuel adversity may be coming.
Aug 27, 2:21am UTC
Boeing is blaming Rolls-Royce for the latest in a series of delays that now has the company estimating first delivery of its 787 Dreamliner sometime in the first part of next year.
Aug 27, 5:15pm UTC

COMPLETE NEWS Read the Latest Issue of AVwebFlash
NEWS ARCHIVES Past News Stories on AVweb

 

AVweb Insider Blog
What happened to John and Martha King isn't so unusual. Here's why pilots are uniquely vulnerable.
 

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Features & Columns

Letter of the Week: Third Class Medical Outdated?

After a couple of years flying without an FAA medical, I would like to join the growing crowd who support expanding this freedom beyond Sport Pilot privileges. History has shown that the third class medical certificate does little or nothing to promote flight safety. I think this is because pilots self-certify their own health for each flight with better judgment than the bureaucracy provides in the medical certification process.

...

Paul Mulwitz

Click through to read the rest of Paul's letter — and other reader mail we've received over the last few days..

 
Brainteasers Whatever the time of year, thunderstorms can be a real showstopper for flight. Test your knowledge of CBs and TCUs before your passengers can scream, "OMG!"
Take the quiz.

FULL INDEX OF FEATURES Browse Our Features Archive
FULL INDEX OF COLUMNS Browse Our Columns Archive

Podcasts and Video
podcasts sponsored by Bose Corporation
Gulfstream's coming G650 aims to claim the title of fastest commercial aircraft in the world. So what else will it have to offer? ... And when is Gulfstream going supersonic? AVweb's Glenn Pew speaks with Gulfstream's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales Larry Flynn to find out.
Think it can't happen to you? John and Martha King (of King Schools) beg to differ. Aviation's best-known couple were the subject of a bizarre case of mistaken identity on Aug. 28 that resulted in them having guns drawn on them, being handcuffed and held for about 30 minutes. As always, there are lessons to be learned from Martha King as she goes through the bizarre event at the Santa Barbara Airport in this unedited and, at 15 minutes, longer-than-usual AVweb podcast.
The dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base in California has seen lots of aviation history in the making, and on Oct. 1 another first will take place there — a fly-in for 100 general aviation aircraft. Flight safety representative Bill Koukourikos and public affairs officer Meredith Mingledorff talked with AVweb's Mary Grady about this unique event and the unique challenges of flying at the site.
Yute Air Alaska serves dozens of remote Alaskan villages with a fleet of 12 Cessna 207s and a single Cessna 172, and every trip involves at least one gravel strip landing. Three of the 207s will reach 30,000 hours in the next few months. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Matt Sullivan, the airline's assistant director of flight operations, about tough airplanes and the tough people who keep them going.
For the most part, being an air show announcer is all about entertainment and educating people about aviation. But, as Roy Hafeli of Hafeli and Hildebrandt Air Show Announcers can attest, there's a serious side to the job sometimes. Hafeli spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles about how his training kicked into gear when a CF-18 fighter exploded in front of him at the Alberta International Air Show on July 23 in Lethbridge.
Paul Glenshaw created Barnstorming, a documentary film about barnstorming pilots and their impact on a Midwest farming community. AVweb's Mary Grady talked with Glenshaw and one of the pilots, Andrew King, at Oshkosh.
 
Wanna go fast and climb like hell? That's what the Silver Eagle Conversion of a P210 with a Rolls Royce turbine engine does. Aviation Consumer's Paul Bertorelli recently took a flight demo in the airplane.
Aviation Consumer's Jeff Van West got water up his nose as he practiced exiting an aircraft that has sunk and flipped over. It was quite a ride.
Avidyne has a slide-in replacement for the STEC-55X autopilots common to Cirrus SR20s and SR22s. Aviation Consumer's Jeff Van West took it up for a flight to the claims of improved performance and new safety features.
The FAA has confirmed it is investigating a midair collision between a biplane and what appears to be a large-scale radio-controlled model on Aug. 14. FAA spokesman Mike Fergus said the mishap occurred at an airport in Brighton, Colo. during what appeared to be a model aircraft event. The RC pilots were using an airport runway or taxiway for their activities, and the model involved in the collision was hovering on prop thrust above a paved surface when the biplane (type unknown) made a low-level pass with air show smoke on over the field, then struck the model.
A Rans S-9 Chaos piloted by 22-year-old Dino Moline lost its wing during an air show routine in Argentina Sunday. Because it was equipped with a Ballistic Recovery Systems (BRS) full-plane parachute system, the pilot survived uninjured.

FULL INDEX OF PODCASTS Find All Podcasts Of Interest

AVwebBiz: AVweb's Business Aviation Newsletter
Delivered every Wednesday morning, AVwebBiz focuses on the companies, the products and the industry leaders that make headlines in the business aviation industry, making it a must-read.

Add AVwebBiz to your free subscriptions today by clicking here and choosing "Update E-mail Subscriptions."
Jan 1, 10:14pm UTC

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Who's Where
Drew McEwen
Drew McEwen is the new Director of Sales, Americas for Piper Aircraft. McEwen had a 28-year career in sales at Hawker Beechcraft before joining Piper.

Sep 1, 12:43am UTC

FULL INDEX OF WHO'S WHERE STORIES Find Past Who's Where Stories Of Interest

VIDEO


Cluster Balloonist Jonathan Trappe

No video? Direct link here.
Silver Eagle Turbine Conversion

No video? Direct link here.

READER-SUBMITTED PHOTOS
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QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Why do incidents involving airplanes create so much drama?

By now you've likely heard about John and Martha King being held at gunpoint by police in Santa Barbara last weekend. We've already heard from more than 100 readers about how they feel about the whole thing. Now, we want to know how you feel — not about what happened to the Kings, but where GA fits in the whole scheme of security and crime.


Share your Opinion »

PILOT RESOURCES

FBO OF THE WEEK

AVweb's "FBO of the Week" ribbon goes to Montgomery Aviation at Indianapolis Executive Airport (KTYQ) in Zionsville, Indiana.

AVweb reader Brian Johnson tells us Montgomery is the cream of the crop in his region:

... [B]y far the best experience I have had with an FBO in my 18 years of flying. They are very courteous, helpful and responsive. I have been part of Eagle Flyers, their local flying club, for the past two years, and it has been a wonderful experience. Very well-maintained aircraft, reasonable prices, good availability and excellent service — this is the type of FBO that inspires current and future general aviation pilots.

Keep those nominations coming. For complete contest rules, click here.

AVweb is actively seeking out the best FBOs in the country and another one, submitted by you, will be spotlighted here next Monday!

Nominate an FBO »

SHORT FINAL...

Heard on the air near KTRK (runways 19 and 28 in use today):

Cessna:
"Truckee Unicom, Twin Cessna XXX eight miles southwest. Runway advisory, please."

Unicom:
"Winds are 190 at 20, gusting 30. All runways are open."

Cessna (slightly clueless sound in his voice) :
"Do you have a suggested runway?"

Unicom:
"Most aircraft are using 19, right traffic."

Cessna:
"Roger. 19, right traffic."

Eric Niedrauer
via e-mail

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